Street Corner Symphony

There’s something about the
concrete angel on Michigan Avenue
that draws street performers
to its outstretched wings.
The man in the slick yellow raincoat--
matching clarinet in hand--
seduces holiday shoppers with
reedy Christmas tunes.
The young men from the projects
caress the angel’s wings
with their drumsticks
tapping out a beat
picked up by the disabled veteran
shaking a penny-filled coffee can
outside of Bloomingdales.
Well-polished shoes
erase sympathy from sidewalks
and headlights from impatient taxi’s illuminate
the man skipping across the street
preaching to the masses about God.
Asleep in a doorway
one man’s head rests on
words that have sealed his fate:
“Mayor Daley Welcomes You to Chicago.”